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Count Me In! Senate Launches Census 2010 Initiative

Several hundred thousands of New Yorkers were not counted in the 2000 Census. Given that the federal government spends nearly $2,000 a year per New York resident in federal program funding, New York lost close to $400 million dollars a year and about $4 billion dollars over the last ten years. This shortfall could have been used to improve education, health care, emergency services - even public transportation - in underserved communities across the Empire State.

Our schools, hospitals, housing, transportation, police and other services are affected by the census. Federal, state and local governments as well as businesses base their decisions on Census data. How much money will be available for state aid, what neighborhood needs a school, a health clinic or a bus line, even where to open a new supermarket – these decisions are based on information that comes from the Census.

That's why the New York State Senate is launching "Count Me In!" It's an effort underway across the state to help ensure all New Yorkers will be counted and that New Yorkers and their communities from Montauk to the North Country receive the resources they both need and deserve.

Visitors to NYSenate.gov/census can find answers about the census, census resources and offer their ideas on how to encourage more people to participate in the census. Senators are working directly with community leaders setting up “Complete Count Committees” to ensure all neighborhood residents are counted in the upcoming 2010 census. Senate research has mapped neighborhoods and even specific blocks where large numbers of people were passed over in previous census counts.

Next spring, the Census will begin the process of counting everyone who lives in New York. The New York State Senate is working with neighborhood leaders across the state to make sure everyone in New York is counted in Census 2010.